A new paradigm war? The impact of national curriculum policies on early childhood teachers' thinking and classroom practice

This paper identifies a new paradigm war, which has emerged from national policy frameworks in education. In England, policy frameworks in the early childhood phase (age 3-7) have created tensions and dilemmas for teachers as they strive to reconcile their professional knowledge with increasingly prescriptive frameworks. Unintended negative consequences have arisen as an outcome of the 'high pressure-high support' policy levers that have operated, particularly in literacy and numeracy, as part of the government's agenda to drive up standards and improve teacher effectiveness. However, the studies reviewed here reveal the processes of creative mediation, adaptation and resistance that teachers utilise. based on their professional knowledge and expertise. The paper tracks three key themes: what happened to teaching; what happened to research on teaching; and what are the future prospects for research and scholarship in the field. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.